Watch: Grass & Muck 2018 – the main movers

The recent FTMTA Grass & Muck event was a sunny spectacle of machinery, technology and performance. Any company with a market in Ireland for machinery used in the silage making process either demonstrated their range or had a static stand where people could talk to company representatives. According to the FTMTA, approximately 11,900 people made it to Gurteen. Aside from all the new grass machinery demonstrated, there was also a sizeable demonstration of dung spreaders. The range of machines available on the market for spreading farmyard manure is impressive. Most dung-spreaders demonstrated used a chain and slat design for moving material towards the rear of the machine where it was obliterated by vertical beaters rotating at high speed. Below we take a look at some of the machinery that caught our eye.

New Holland used the event to launch a number of products, including its FR920 Forage Cruiser forage harvester. The machine uses a 911hp V20 20L engine that produces 4,095 Nm of torque.

The DiscCutter 320P mounted mower conditioner and ProRotor C760 twin-rotor were launched at Agritechnica last November. The rebranded machines are a result of the acquisition of Kongskilde by New Holland earlier last year. The DiscCutter rear mower-conditioner range comes with hydraulic suspension and stone release. The ProRotor C760 twin-rotor rake is fitted with 12-tine arms on each rotor, which are made up of two parts for ease of replacement if damaged. Each arm is fitted with four spring-loaded tines. Mechanical rear-wheel steering is fitted for smaller headland turns and a swivelling wheel at the front of each rotor reduces scuffing during work.

Fendt demonstrated a range of new products in Gurteen. This was the first time that the German company attended the event and used it to launch a number of new machines.

The biggest of these was the 625hp Katana 65. This is the first time the forage harvester was demonstrated in the Republic of Ireland.

The machine comes standard with 4WD and suspended rear axle. The company also launched the Fendt Tigo silage wagon which has a 36m3 capacity.

This was the first viewing of this machine in the Fendt green.

Other machines demonstrated included the company’s range of mowers, rakes and tedders.

German manufacturer Krone demonstrated its complete range of silage equipment. Everything from side-mounted mowers and mounted tedders right up to its ZX 430 GL forage wagon drew in a huge crowd of spectators. Star of the show was the BiG-X 630. With 626hp, it was well able for any sward put in front of it. Irish importer Farmhand closed its demonstration with all equipment working together in a line on the last of the grass standing on its demonstration plot.

This was Claas’s first public demonstration of the Torion loader in Ireland after its launch in Agritechnica last year. As a new player in the articulated loader market, it will compete against the heavy hitters including JCB, Volvo and New Holland. The loader weighs in at 14,300kg and comes with a 167hp DPS engine. It made light work of the pit with its folding front pike.

Pöttinger is a new entrant to the baler-wrapper combination market. The tandem axle Impress 125 FC Pro fixed chamber baler comes with a 2.3m pickup and can make bales up to 4.1ft (1.25m) in diameter. Pöttinger says minimum power requirement is 130hp and a maximum of 32 knives can be engaged at one time for chopping. The machine weighs in at 7,540kg and is shod on 500/60R22.5 tyres. Other features include a knife bank located above the feed-in rotor and a pedular pickup for better ground contouring.

A distinctive paint-job on the side of the Kuhn baler-wrapper combination meant it wasn’t going to be easily missed. The machine uses film-on-film technology to wrap silage bales. Two rolls of 750mm silage film are fed into the chamber at the front to wrap the bale instead of net. Upon reaching the wrapping table, a further two layers of film are applied to the bale both horizontally and vertically as the dispenser arms rotate through 90° on the satellite wrapping arms.

One of the more unusual machines was the SIP AIR 300F cross-conveyor. This machine uses a full-width pickup and conveyor belt to move grass to one side. Hydraulic drive means the speed of the unit can be varied. According to Irish importers Fermec, the advantage of such a machine is less contamination of grass from stones and dirt compared with a single or twin-rotor rake.

Another relatively new entrant to the grass machinery market is Massey Ferguson. Visitors to the demonstration plot would have recognised the 2125 FPR RB as a re-badged Lely round baler. The new range didn’t stop there, however, with tedders, single-rotor rakes, variable chamber balers, mowers and twin-rotor rakes completing the lineup from MF.

Manufactured in the Cornwall, England, the Teagle Titan 10 has 10m3 capacity. The 7.8m long machine weights 5,210kg empty and minimum power requirement is 105hp. Heaped capacity when greedy-boards are fitted is 12.4m3. A hydraulically raised slurry-door prevents material falling through the machine's vertical-beaters when on the road. Full width floor-chains draw material to the vertical-beaters whose tips overlap for complete material shredding and spreading. The driveline underneath the machine is shielded and all lubrication points are at ground level.

The Mayo-based company used the event to promote its entire grass range but to also to demonstrate its new twin-rotor rake. The 62-72 rake has an adjustable working width from 6.2 to 7.2m. Each rotor measures 2.8m and has 11 tines per rotor. 540 PTO drive is delivered through a Y-designed drive line and the machine weighs in at just 1,890kg. Pivoting and steering rotor wheels are designed for minimum sward contamination.

Working on the pit was the New Holland W170D loader. The loader has a 45km/h five-speed power-shift transmission with torque convertor. Under the bonnet is a 6.7l engine which generates 197hp at 1,800 RPM. Maximum hydraulic oil flow is 206l/min and maximum torque is 950Nm at 1,600 RPM. At maximum bucket payload, the loader weighs in at 15,475kg.

New to the Irish market on a static stand was the Enorossi batrake and mower. Both machines were originally launched at Agritechnica last year. The design of the batrake is not new but something Irish importer Alan Gillick of AMIA Ireland believes will work in Irish grass conditions. Eight non-powered wheels on each side of the rake move grass into the centre of the machine. Working width is from 20ft to 24ft with a transport width of 9ft. Due to the lack of PTO, power requirement is as low as 30hp.

Also on the stand was the DMT-REX 320 10.5ft disc mower. This machine is towed from the tractor’s three-point-linkage and, like most mower-conditioners, uses V-shaped tines for conditioning the grass.

According to Agrispread, the AS10000 has a 10t capacity or 7.5m3. Minimum power requirement is 100hp. Floor drive to the 16mm grade 80 chains is through a hydraulic motor. The machine weighs 4,650kg empty, with each rotor rotating at 380rpm. 580/70 R38 BKT tyres and hydraulic brakes are standard. A vertical lifting slurry door is also fitted to prevent material falling out when not spreading.

Imported by Cork-based Egmont Agri, the Metal-Fach dung spreader demonstrated has a 9.5m3 capacity. When 600mm greedy boards are added, capacity rises to 15.3m3. According to Metal-Fach, minimum power requirement is 90hp. The machine is also fitted with a sprung drawbar, slurry door, 14mm floor chains and vertical beaters. Depending on material spread width is between 8m and 12m. Spread rate is controlled by hydraulic adjustment of the floor-chain speed.

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